So why is smoking more evil than anything else? And why is publicly and unreservedly demonizing smokers more socially acceptable?
I’m not stupid—I know smoking can and might kill you—but so can a lot of other things. Sure, some people find smoking disgusting, but have you ever been around an alcoholic who reeks of liquor in the morning and won’t take a shower? Have you ever seen a meth addict scratch at their skin until it becomes raw? Have you seen the teeth and skin of people battling eating disorders? Other vices can be every bit as disgusting as smoking, and other vices can cause death too.
I am shocked at some of the things I hear, from people I know and like, everyday. People don’t think twice about expressing their (often severe) opinion of smoking. I know that many people who are so opposed to smoking have had someone they love die from it. But that doesn’t make the public anti-smoking tirade OK. I know people who have died from problems related to obesity and diabetes, but I don’t go off on everyone in McDonald’s. I’ve seen people I love in the hospital, yellow—their stomachs swollen from alcohol. But, I don’t get nasty with everyone at the bar on Friday night.
I don’t know why people think it is OK to talk about smokers like they are the biggest and most evil fools on the planet. It isn’t fair. We all make our personal choices. I may smoke, but I exercise, eat healthy and organic, recycle, help old ladies off the bus, work with children, and do many other positive things. Even if you know someone who has died from smoking, it is not a license to attack every other smoker you meet. People are all entitled to live their own lives and make their own choices. If I am not smoking in your face or bothering you at all, then you have no right to treat me like I am the lowest form of humanity. There are disrespectful and respectful smokers, just like with everything else.
